Sloane Grammar School boy, if you seek your memorial,

look around you.

DON'T FORGET!! -

PLEASE CHECK THE ANNOUNCEMENTS BOARD AT THE FOOT  OF THIS PAGE FOR ANYTHING IMPORTANT and, after you Log In, the CALENDAR OF EVENTS PAGE FOR DETAILS OF FORTHCOMING EVENTS. 

If you're having trouble logging in because you've forgotten your Password, click on Forgot Password? inside the Classmate Login box that appears after you click   Sign In   and you'll be Emailed a link to reset it.
 

You'll find other helpful tips under REMINDERS below.
 

  
The Sloane

Hello and Welcome to

Mark Foulsham's

Sloane Grammar School website

If I built it I knew you would come

A School that invited loyalty

 
Gone But Not Forgotten

'Men are we, and must grieve when even the shade

Of that which once was great is pass'd away.'

William Wordsworth

On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic

You may think you're done with the past but the past isn't done with you!
 

"The merits of a school are judged as much by the men it produces as by their achievements as boys" - 

(Old Cheynean D.J. Cowie, March 1929)
 

Register and link up with old school friends again and become part of Sloane Reunited.

If you were a pupil or member of staff at Sloane you qualify to register for the website. Click on Missing Classmates at the top of this page to see if we've been expecting you. If you see your name click on it and follow instructions. If your name's not there click on BECOME A MEMBER to learn more and then click the ADD NAME button to start the ball rolling or click Contact Us at the top of the page, read what you see then complete the box at the bottom of that page to ask me to add your name to the list.

It's Free, it's Easy, it's Secure

and

You're Never Alone As A Sloane
 

If you're a member, click on an image (     ) at the top for more. 

Here's what you'll find -

  = Messages waiting for you. The red bubble shows how many.

  = Website activity. Check for things you may have missed.

  = Member functions like Profile, Contact, and Password changes.

      AND -

  If you're already a member please remember to keep your Email address up to date using Edit Contact Info, to be found by clicking on  the  image at the top of the page. 

 Please don't forget to use the Notify Me page under the  image to make selections that will help you keep in touch as well as help you enjoy all the website has to offer.

     You may already have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player but your browser no  longer uses it automatically and it will not be supported at all after 31st December, 2020. From that date Google has confirmed it will completely block Flash from being able to run under the Chrome browser as will Mozilla for their Firefox browser and Microsoft for Internet Explorer and Edge. The Members Online feature uses Flashplayer (as do some animations and slideshows) so if it can't be seen clearly in the bottom right of your Home Page, click your mouse on what you can see and you'll be prompted to run Flashplayer. Agreeing will see the Members Online window re-appear. The same applies to animations and slideshows that don't show automatically. Use your Search Engine to search the web for how you allow Flash automatically in the browser you use but some browsers will ignore your choice anyway if you've chosen 'Allow', others, like Opera or Brave, will not. To check how this site handles Flash, click on the Padlock or Not Secure wording that precedes this website's Domain Name in your browser's Address Bar and set Flash to Allow or Ask (default). Click on Site Settings and under Permissions it also shows the same choice.  HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language) is the likely replacement for Flash and hopefully, this website will be converted to it before the deadline for the loss of Flash.    

     Please remember to Log Out when you leave the site by using the Log Out button to be found under the  image at the top of the page. 
 

         AND FINALLY, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, -

Please let a close relative know of your participation in the Sloane website and show them how to use the Contact Us page to notify me in the sad event of your death. Not only will this allow me to notify other members, it will also put a stop to any website generated emails finding their way to your Inbox. Thank you.

Come on in! 
Don't be late! 
This is one detention 
You'll be pleased to take.
               

    A WARM WELCOME 

to fellow Cheyneans and passers-by, from the Official Sloane Grammar School 1919-1970 Old Cheyneans and Friends web site.

Mark Foulsham, at Sloane 1963-70, created this site in August 2008 to record for posterity all that I can, and for all those who attended Sloane or simply have a Sloane connection, to share and enjoy. Feel free just to browse or, if you feel you qualify to join us, make full use of the site by becoming a Registered Classmate. Click on the Click Here to Register button above to start the registration process. It's Free!

I'll also be happy to send a personal invitation to anyone else with a Sloane School Chelsea connection who you think might like to join us. Just enter their Email address in the MISSING CLASSMATES box to your right and click Send Invite.  

We may not understand why but memories of our days at Sloane remain with us while others do not. Whether they're good or they're bad, I'd like to give all old boys the opportunity to keep those memories alive.

 Aspirations and Objectives

Sloane never had a motto and although our school badge is based on the lion rampant and boar's head of the Cadogan family crest their motto, Qui Invidet Minor Est or He That Envies Is Inferior, is not really appropriate so I'll adopt the one to be found on the Coat of Arms of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea as it suits us nicely -

Quam Bonum In Unum Habitare

 (What A Good Thing It Is To Dwell Together In Unity) 

It is hoped, in some small way, to be able to have similar objectives to those stated for the first issue of The Cheynean in December 1926  -

"To record faithfully the major activities of the School, to promote and foster a corporate spirit in the School, to excite a greater keenness both in the games and in other phases of its social life, and to serve as a link between present members of the School and the Old Cheyneans".  -

and also to bring together, once again, old friends and classmates, and those of us who have outlived the school and share a common interest in its history and its future.

Sadly, I've no memory of having ever sung or even heard a school song but apparently one was written by music Master Mr Seymour Dicker in 1928, and was first sung in July of that year by pupil J E Bush. What became of it after that first performance is a mystery but it contained the lines -

"Salve, the School and its scholars so keen,

 Long may they keep its memory green."

 If you've any memories of Sloane you'd like to share, use the Contact Us page to send them in and, whilst you're there, register for the site as well. 

Once you've registered, you can activate the Instant Messaging feature that allows you to hold a 'real-time' online conversation with anyone else who has logged on to the website. You can also send a message to someone else on the site via the Message Centre or by using their Profile. Click on their name on the Classmate Profiles page then click on the red 'Send ? a private message' at the top of their Profile.

After you've registered, why not take a look at all the Classmate Profiles ? Even if you don't know the person involved, the information they've put on their Profile can be interesting, illuminating and fun, and often brings back memories of something you thought you'd forgotten about.

If, at any time after becoming a member, you're unsure about anything click on this Using This Site link for an explanation or contact me direct via the Contact Us page.
 

 * * * * * * * *
 

 Why Not Take a Look at Where your Classmates are Living?

Find out the Postcode of a Classmate from their Profile (if they've agreed to let everyone know it) then Click on the link below, enter the details where it says 'Address', then Click on 'Go'. Not every country is covered yet and those that are have limited coverage, but it's worth a try.

Here's the link. Have fun - http://www.vpike.com/

* * * * * * * *

The Sloane News

BREAKING NEWS!

A Letter to The Times

Dear Sir,

When I was a child, my unemployed father cheated on my mother and didn't love my family. Later, my parents divorced. Soon my mother died in a car accident. My brother and I could only live in my grandma's old house. The whole family lived on my grandma's savings. Later, my brother drifted away after marrying an actress. A couple of years later, my grandmother died. Now my Dad, at the age of 73, has to work for the first time to support the family......such a tragic set of events.

Prince William
 

*

Brussels sprouts to be renamed London sprouts in latest display of post-Brexit sovereignty

The UK government has announced a change to the name of a popular vegetable as its latest display of sovereignty now it is no longer under the yoke of the bureaucratic EU.

Under international trade rules, Brussels could and would ban the British from describing the brassica as being from Brussels in what is being seen as the opening salvo of a tit-for-tat trade war.

Energy minister and staunch supporter of all things ‘sovereignty’, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has been welcome to the change.

“This shows that leaving the EU has a tangible and immediate benefit to the British voter, who can now celebrate a more sovereign Christmas dinner.

“Eating a Brussels sprout has always been about stuffing something deeply unpleasant down your throat in a misguided belief you’re doing the right thing. So the relationship between Brussels sprouts and EU membership is clear.

But London sprouts are an entirely different thing altogether. And we would suggest everyone start growing them in their gardens immediately. You know, just in case.”

Others within the government have hailed the announcement with James Cleverly describing sprouts as being as “British as fish and chips, Spag Bol and chicken Korma”.

Cleverly went on to paint a picture of a glorious post-Brexit future where British children could eat London sprouts whenever they wanted, unencumbered by Eurocrat red tape.

He spoke of a post-Brexit future where happy children in short trousers would skip to the corner shop and buy a bag of sprouts for a shiny ha’penny before eagerly devouring them on a sun-kissed, grassy hillside far from the horrors of Johnny Foreigner.

Meanwhile, the Dutch government have announced plans to restrict British access to orange carrots, claiming that if the British wanted to see in the dark, they should have voted to remain.

*

Rishi Sunak pledges new ‘Eat Out to Blackout’ scheme to address energy crisis
 

New prime minister Rishi Sunak will cunningly reduce demand on gas and electricity by making people eat in restaurants and therefore solve the energy crisis at the same time.

“It’s simple economics,” he explained to a group of Conservative Party members, the collective noun for which is ‘a clunge’.

Energy prices are so high because demand is high. If demand dropped relative to supply then prices would soon follow.

Therefore, as your new Prime Minister, I will implement an ‘Eat out to blackout’ scheme. Basically, everyone will be forced to eat in restaurants, rather than cook for themselves at home. This will obviously reduce the demand for gas and electricity supplies. I don’t expect everyone to visit upmarket eateries – lower-income households will be permitted to go to Old Macdonald’s or The King of Burgers or wherever. I’m aware that some households will struggle to afford to do even this, but that’s part of this amazing plan – unable to pay their bills, they’ll get energy supplies cut off completely and demand will then really plummet!

“I don’t expect everyone to visit upmarket eateries – lower-income households will be permitted to go to Old Macdonald’s or The King of Burgers or wherever.

I’m aware that some households will struggle to afford to do even this, but that’s part of this amazing plan – unable to pay their bills, they’ll get energy supplies cut off completely and demand will then really plummet!

I’ll need to liaise with whoever I appoint as Home Secretary to determine suitable punitive measures – but let’s face it, it will likely involve being deported to Rwanda.

Anyone who refuses to eat out will be deemed a criminal and punished accordingly.”

To convince doubters who say he isn't convincingly committed to addressing the climate change agenda, Mr. Sunak has done yet another Tory u-turn by deciding to attend the COP27 Climate Change Summit after all. He has no doubt been advised that attending will give him the opportunity to promote the UK's great record on recycling. Seems to be some confusion here. Recycling useless Cabinet ministers time and again doesn't fool anyone and thinking they're renewables is just as bad.

*

Boris explains his decision not to stand for leader

Apparently, Boris decided against standing for re-election to the Tory leadership as Carrie, his wife, wouldn't have had enough time to shop for essentials like new wallpaper. When it was explained to her that the paper she chose when they first moved in, four years ago, was still on the walls, she replied that it was "typically 2019" and she had gone off it.

*

FRONT PAGE NEWS

Get you tickets now!!

This is something none of you will want to miss! Robbie Knievel, son of the late Evil Knievel, is flying into London this week to perform a daring stunt where he will attampt to jump over 150 environmental activists using his latest machine, a Caterpillar D-9 -

Thankfully, the political shenanigans and comings and goings seem to have settled down. Fingers crossed. They haven't gone away completely, of course, as the BBC, in particular, seem determind to remove at least one Tory minister from office with whatever innocuous reason they can find. The recently re-instated Suella Braverman is their latest target. If the Labour Party stopped banging on about something she's already apologised for countless times perhaps she can be allowed to get on with her job. No chance; Labour are desperate now they realsie they're going to have to spend at least another two years on the sidelines. It's funny how despair makes adults resort to the tactics of the schoolboy. The only thing they've succeeded in doing so far is to turn the House of Commons into a playground at every opportunity and to make themselves look inadequate. Perhaps, if they had solutions to the problems we face, I'd see them in a different light. None forthcoming so far so don't hold your breath.
 

Speaking of 'the problems we face', my family actually have big smiles on their faces at the moment. They think I've put the heating on when all I've actually done is installed a fake thermostat. I still covered it in barbed wire just in case.

Hallowe'en has just passed, and along with Christmas, it's my wife's favourite time of they year. She decorates the house on both occasions and especially loves to see the happy faces of the kids as they knock on our door for a 'Trick or Treat?'. Unfortunately, she dresses up too so we get less and less kids knocking each year. It's not a pretty sight. Personally, I'm not a Hallowe'en fan which, of course, to my wife makes me a miserable old git. I'm quite content to sit and watch TV and call her to open the door when another lot turn up. I think they've got wise to the fact that my wife won't disappoint them as far as an abundance of sweets is concerned.  If it were left to me, I'd tie bags of sweets to the outside of the front door with a notice saying 'Help yourself then bugger off!". The last ring on our doorbell came at 10.10pm on 31st October. What are very young kids doing roaming the streets at that time of night, even if it with their parents!? I think parents must be forcing their kids to do it, taking the sweets from them and handing them out again as the weeks lead up to Christmas or even saving them to put in their stockings. Times are hard.

As my neighbour, a Glasgow Rangers fan, told me, having to spend a small fortune on decorations and sweets for the kids would never have been a problem if it weren't for the Celts. I don't usually indulge in Sectarianism but I'm on his side with that one. Apparently, Southampton fans see it as a celebration of the 'Saints'. Can't say I'm surprised.

If what my wife does makes her happy who am I to prevent her from doing it? I just wish she'd draw the line at lighting candles on the graves of just about anyone's dear departed in the local cemetery as picking her up from the local police station is becoming more difficult since they closed it down. Still, I'm sure they look after her well until morning. Every year she tries to get me into the spirit of things. This year she dressed up as a police officer, handcuffed me, then told me she was arresting me on suspicion of being good in bed. She dropped the charges after two minutes, due to lack of evidence. 

It's my elderly neighbour who worries me more. She's been putting the same Hallowe'en decorations up every year and every year I knock to congratulate her but never get an answer. I look through her window and see cobwebs and bugs and flies everywhere. She even goes so far as putting a skeleton on the sofa.

Touch wood, I've been feeling healthier these past few months and don't feel as if there's anything to prevent me from having a long life. My only recent scare did result in a visit to the doctor, though. I told him,

"One minute I think I'm Mickey Mouse and the next I think I'm Pluto."

"Tell me", he said. "How long have you been having these Disney spells?"

My apologies to those of you who were praying for my early demise but I've got some catching up to do on the sinning side before the Redeemer comes to collect. Atheism being a non-prophet organisation, I've decided it's time to believe in something; you never know when it's going to come in handy. In fact praying saved a mate of mine's life once. He used to be a ship's captain and after his ship hit some rocks it started to sink. In desperation, he called out -

"Anyone here know how to pray?"

One of his crew stepped forward and spoke,

"Yes, captain, I know how to pray."

"Good," said my thankful mate. "You pray while the rest of us put on our life-jackets - we're one short."

*

JOKES OF THE WEEK

As an aeroplane is about to crash, a female passenger jumps up frantically and announces,

"If I'm going to die, I want to die feeling like a woman."

She removes all her clothing and asks,

"Is there someone on this plane who is man enough to make me feel like a woman?"

A man stands up, removes his shirt and says,

"Here, iron this!". 

*
 

John just graduated from clinical psychology and opens his first office. After some successful advertising he is astounded to have nearly 300 people wanting to be in group therapy. John decides to rent a big hall and invite the entire group. To break the ice, and to get the therapy started, John decides to ask a show of hands how often the attendees had sex. He first asks for a show of hands of all the people who had sex almost every night. A modest number of hands were raised. He then asks, how many had sex once a week? This time a larger number of hands were raised. John then asks how many had sex once or twice a month? Again a few hands were raised. After John polled his group several more times he noticed one bloke sitting off to the side with this huge beaming grin on his face. John noticed that the man never raised his hand, so he asked him how often he had sex. He said,

"Once a year!"

John responds,

"Why are you so happy getting sex only once a year?".

Still grinning, the man replies,

"Tonight's the night!"

*

A couple just got married and on the night of their honeymoon before making passionate love, the wife tells the husband,

"Please be gentle, I'm still a virgin."

The husband being shocked, replied,

"How's this possible? You've been married three times before."

The wife responds, "Well, my first husband was a gynaecologist and all he wanted to do was look at it. My second husband was a psychiatrist and all he wanted to do was talk about it. Finally, my third husband was a stamp collector and all he wanted to do was...oh, do I miss him!"

*

A woman starts dating a doctor.

Before too long, she becomes pregnant and they don’t know what to do.

About nine months later, just about the time she is going to give birth, a priest goes into the hospital for a prostate gland infection.

The doctor says to the woman,

“I know what we’ll do. After I’ve operated on the priest, I’ll give the baby to him and tell him it was a miracle.”

“Do you think it will work?” she asks.

“It’s worth a try.” he says. So, the doctor delivers the baby and then operates on the priest.

After the operation he goes in to the priest and says,

“Father, you’re not going to believe this.”.

“What?” asks the priest, “what happened?”.

“You gave birth to a child!”.

“But that’s impossible!” says the priest.

“I just did the operation,” insists the doctor, “it’s a miracle! Here’s your baby.”

About fifteen years go by, and the priest realises he must tell his son the truth. One day, he sits the boy down and says,

“Son, I have something to tell you. I’m not your father.”

The son says,

“What do you mean, you’re not my father?”

The priest replies,

“I am your mother, the archbishop is your father.”

*

Three nuns were chatting to each other and came to the conclusion that they hadn't really led an exciting life and must have missed out on a lot of fun. They agreed to visit the priest and tell him straight that they were going to sin at least one time each.

The priest tells them to go and do their sinning then come back to him and he'd bless them. they did as they were asked and when they returned the priest said to the first nun,

"What was your sin?"

She was giggling as she told him,

"I spent the night with a man!"

The priest said OK, blessed her then told her to go and drink some of the holy water near the altar.

When asked the same question, the second nun, laughing even louder than the first, told the priest,

" I started a fight with another nun."

The priest blessed her as well and told her to go and drink some of the holy water.

The third nun couldn't contain herself and was laughing non-stop as the priest asked her what her sin was. She eventually managed to say,

"I peed in the holy water."

* * *
 

THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

Sound familiar?.............

*

As a child I saw Tarzan almost naked, Cinderalla arrived home after midnight, Pinocchio told lies, Aladdin was a thief, Batman drove over 200 miles an hour, Snow White lived in a house with 7 men, Popeye smoked a pipe and had tattoos, and Pac Man ran around to digital music while eating pills that enhanced his performance. Did all this turn me into a bad adult?

*

If God didn't want us to eat people why did he make them out of meat?

*

The Story of The NEVERWELLS (WHO ARE NEVER OUT OF TROUBLE)

Many years ago I picked up a small book at a car boot sale and now, With over two years in the world of Covid behind us, I thought it might be a good time to share its contents with you.

The book in question, published in 1948 (the year the NHS came into being), is titled The Story of The NEVERWELLS (WHO ARE NEVER OUT OF TROUBLE) and was written by William Edwards, a doctor, under the pseudonym Dr. Goodenough.

The Neverwells included mum and dad, their small boy Billy, growing-up Mary and baby Roy, and came into being after the Editor of The People newspaper met two people on a train. One of them was a doctor friend of the Editor's, 'a kindly soul yet a man of the world who has one of the biggest practices in the South of England.' He said: 

"I am rushed off my feet these days. And in most cases I need not have been called in at all, if only people had a simple knowledge about ordinary illnesses."

Later, the Editor found himself talking to a woman passenger with two children -

"They're not too strong," she said, "always under the doctor with one thing or another. It's never serious you know, but the trouble is you can never be sure and so you must call the doctor."

The same night as he had spoken to the two people on the train, the Editor of The People telephoned his doctor friend and asked him if he would become Dr. Goodenough and write for him every week the story of a family - the Neverwell family - about their complaints and how he treated them, and in simple language so that ordinary people could at last learn the elementary things about illness.

For over a year before the book was published, Dr. Goodenough entertained and instructed People readers every week with the story of the never-ending complaints of the Neverwells. There were words of wisdom and understanding in these little features as well. So much so that, increasingly, the People was inundated with letters from readers asking for a book to be written. Hence, the book I picked up some 30 years after it was first published I now bring to you each time I update this Home Page of the website. I hope you find some enjoyment in its pages and can see the comparisons it enables us to make between the way medicine was practiced  back then and how much it has advanced in such a relatively short space of time whilst the personal touch has moved in the opposite direction.

This next piece from the book tells us all about that bane of our lives, the common cold and how to prevent it -
 

The Common Cold

"Atishoo!" sneezed Mr. Neverwell. " I say, doctor, I've got a frightful cold coming on. Can you give me anything to stop it?"

"When did it begin?" asked Dr. Goodenough.

"When I got up, this morning. I was all right when I went to bed. Can't think how I got it. I mean I haven't been getting wet through, or sitting in a draught or anything."

"And you haven't been near anyone who had one, of course?" asked the doctor, smiling.

"Why, they're not catching, are they?" asked Mr. Neverwell.

"There was a bloke sitting opposite me in the train last night. He had an awful cold. In fact, he asked me to put the window up, because of the draught."

"So you obliged, and the grateful fellow passed on his germs to you. Honestly, these lunatics who go in trains and buses and insist on shutting windows are a public danger and ought to be fined or put in gaol. In the first place, fresh air is essential for themselves. Second, they ought to have more decency than to infect other people. If I had my way, the railway people wouldn't stop at NO SMOKING and LADIES ONLY. They would have OPEN WINDOWS ONLY for those who object to being infected - and quite a lot of them. It's disgusting - worse than spitting in people's faces. However, now you've caught it, we'd better do something about it. Have you had plenty of oranges lately?"

"The kids eat what there are."

"Or any fresh greenstuff?"

"Cabbages at 1s 6d. Nothing ready on my allotment yet."

"Like most other people, you are very short of vitamin C - and a really adequate supply of C is essential in developing a resistance to colds. Much more important than A or D, in all the cod-liver oil people take. Mind you, that's splendid stuff for building you up afterwards; but it doesn't prevent them much. Well, we've got to make up your orange shortage in one drastic dose: we've got to saturate you with vitamin C quickly. So you can take these twenty tablets of ascorbic acid right now, while I watch you!"

"What, all those?" Mr. Neverwell was alarmed. "Won't that be dangerous?"

"Not in the slightest. You can eat twenty oranges instead if you like - if you can get them!"

"O.K." Mr. Neverwell swallowed them. "What now?"

He sneezed violently, and blew his nose.

"First, don't sneeze all over me. I don't want it. Second, you'd do better with some paper or rag you could burn. Third, the sooner we dry up that fountain of yours, the better for all concerned. The answer is a drug called amphetamine. I'm giving you two tablets now, and that will clear your head completely within half an hour. When it wears off, in about six hours, you can take another. You can take two or three every day, but don't take them at night, they tend to keep you awake. A couple of aspirins at bedtime would be better."

"They really will stop me sneezing? Can I buy them anywhere?"

"Not without a prescription; but you can buy the next best thing for about 2s. : an amphetamine inhaler. A few sniffs at that clears your head quite a lot."

Mr. Neverwell swallowed two more tablets.

"I hope you're right," he said. "Anything else to take?"

"Yes. Here's a little smelling-salts bottle. I've filled it with cotton wool and poured some iodine in. Keep it in your pocket, so that the iodine vaporises a bit. Every now and then, take the stopper out and have a sniff. The iodine vapour will kill some of those noxious germs of yours, stun a few more, and make the rest uncomfortable. By the way, don't tell all your pals just how to treat a cold."

"Why not? Is it your trade secret?"

The doctor laughed. "No. First: some can't be sured whatever you do; also when a cold has been going on several days and got to the thick stage, the treatment is different. You need some drops with sulphathiozole in, to kill the germs, and some linctus for the cough, and that cod-liver oil to soothe the membranes. It all depends on what stage you've reached - but, of course, it's much better to catch colds early. Now don't sneeze anymore, there's a good chap."

He opened all the windows, rather ostentatiously. Mr. Neverwell turned as he was leaving.

"Oh, I wish you'd call and see Billy. His eyes were all stuck up this morning. The wife had to bathe them open."

Next time, learn more about Billy's Conjunctivitus. 

* * * * *

* * * * *

The Home We Called Sloane
 

The Sloane building seen from Hortensia Road in 1908  

The Sloane building was 100 years old in 2008, although it didn't actually start life as a boys' school until after the First World War, during which it served as a hospital. It still stands and many memories are, no doubt, ingrained in its walls along with the odd name and ribald comment. Who knows what the future holds, despite its Grade II listing on May 7th, 2002. Grade II listed buildings can be altered, extended, or even demolished, but only with Local Authority consent, so it may be that the building is considered historically or architecturally interesting enough for it's fabric to remain untouched. Some consideration may have been given to it having been the first purpose-built secondary school in London, and it is certainly one of only 3% of all ages of listed buildings that was built in the 20th century. Schools generally are seen as a good investment by developers because they're easy to convert. They are likely to be structurally sound because the authorities will have inspected them regularly to ensure they comply with Health and Safety requirements.  

Sadly, Sloane Grammar School for Boys only lasted 51 years, from 1919-1970. Sloane old boy John Binfield, in one of his poems, writes -

... the school, with
All its past, was sucked into a huge
Turbulent sea of glass in Pimlico
And sank without trace. "full fathom five..

Sea nymphs hourly ring his knell.
Hark, now I hear them. Ding-dong bell".

The exterior of the building still survives in the form we all remember even if the interior doesn't. It would have been wonderful to have been able to celebrate, in 2019, what would have been its centenary as a boys' school, had it remained in existence as such. Unfortunately, for us, it wasn't to be, and the Covid-19 pandemic that gripped the world in 2020 and beyond didn't allow for a late celebration either . Maybe one day...... 
 

Sloane seen from the rear in 2014

* * *
   

This Website And The British Library's Web Archive

Please Note: - The school building still remains but not as a school. I've tried to preserve as much of its history and old boys' memories of it as I can, on this website. You might like to know that once I'm no longer around and have shuffled off to that classroom in the sky, this website will remain intact. Once my monthly payments to the Class Creator programmers cease the site will continue but to compensate them for their loss it will display adverts. If you're still around, you'll still be able to Log In to the site and carry on much as you did when I was alive. Naturally, the site will look exactly as it did (apart from the adverts) on the day I died. What will not be possible are any new members, unlikely as that is, as I won't be here to verify they are who they say they are.

In addition, in 2013 , just before the Legal Deposit regulations came into force, I asked to register the website with the British Library's UK Web Archive as one of historical interest and they agreed. So, when none of us are unable to Log In anymore or the Class Creator business ceases to operate, it will still be available for access by our children and grandchildren etc., as well as future historians, at this address -
 

Web Archiving
The British Library
96 Euston Road
London NW1 2DB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7184
E-mail: web-archivist@bl.uk

Since 2013, publishers need to give a copy of every UK publication they make to the British Library. Five other major UK libraries may also ask to be given a copy. This system is called legal deposit and it's been a part of English law since 1662.

Print publications for legal deposit can be books, journals, sheet music, maps, plans, charts or tables. Now legal deposit also covers material published digitally such as websites, blogs, e-journals and CD-ROMs.

Legal deposit has many benefits for publishers and authors. The deposited publications can be read inside the British Library and will be preserved for future generations. Their works become part of the nation’s heritage, providing inspiration for new books and other publications.

Unfortunately, in the case of websites, the British Library say that much of the information contained in them cannot be archived for technical reasons. In addition, as almost all this website's pages are Password Protected, it will be impossible for them to be accessed unless I remove that restriction. At some point I will give the British Library's 'web crawler' access to our Password Protected pages to allow it to take a 'snapshot' of the site on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or 6-monthly basis. At the time of writing this, 2020, their system doesn't have the capability to crawl and archive private content that sits behind a Log In procedure. They will noever be allowed access to members' Profiles and the personal information they contain.

The current generation of web crawlers cannot capture:

• Interactive, dynamically generated content
• Content that is only available via a search engine on the website, or some other form submission method
• Some types of JavaScript-driven menus
• YouTube videos, Flash movies and similar streaming audio or video (some audio and video files can be captured, e.g. those embedded via the standard HTML5 <video> or <audio> tags).

Unlike static HTML, which is relatively easy to capture, script code is very hard for traditional web crawlers to analyse, which is why the Library runs web browsers for a limited part of their crawls. Even that cannot capture very interactive web sites, like single-page web applications, or any site feature that needs a remote server to function. In practical terms this means that entering queries into the search box of an archived version of a website will not work. Standard links on the website, however, will work as normal.

Some JavaScript driven menus do not function well once archived. YouTube videos, Flash movies, and similar streaming audio or video are also beyond the capability of web crawlers. However, as members of the International Internet Preservation Consortium, contributors to the UK Web Archive are developing tools which will help capture this content in the future.

Attempts are made to gather all of the objects associated with a website including html, images, PDF documents, audio and video files and other objects such as programming scripts. However, the crawler software cannot automatically gather any material that is protected behind a password, without the owner's collaboration. Web site owners may however choose to divulge confidentially a user ID and password to allow archiving of these areas. So, as I said, I'll collaborate with the British Library to allow them to gather only non-invasive non-personal information behind the password protection if and when their archiving system becomes capable of it .

Should you wish to visit the UK Web Archive to see what it makes available for viewing or if you know of a website that you think deserves preservation, use this link -

https://www.webarchive.org.uk/ukwa/info/nominate

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Whatever our own personal reasons for it doing so, the school will still haunt most of us even if it disappears altogether. With that tenuous link, here's a poem that I came across in a copy of The Cheynean -

The Ghost of Sloane

 
When London's asleep and the School very quiet,
No sound of footsteps, no sound of a riot,
No sound of even the shuffle of feet,
No sound of the creak of a pupil's seat,
Out of the darkness the ghost of Sloane
Awakes from rest with a sigh and a groan.
Then up he arises to haunt the School
Climbing the stairs in the guise of a ghoul.
He shuffles and clanks down each corridor
Into the classrooms where stand desks galore.
He examines each desk and checks the boys' work,
Allots ghostly marks in the dark and the murk.

If you ever lose books from out of your desk,
And the teacher upbraids you and calls you a pest,
Just tell him my story, however tall,
Of the white shrouded phantom that haunts the School Hall.

                                                    J. Hollingshead (3C)

As for us, the boys who used to attend our Chelsea school, we probably considered ourselves 'Chelsea men' but I doubt that many of us fitted the description in this poem, written when he was in the 5th year by one time Sloane Schoolboy, A R Doubledee. I get the impression he didn't particularly approve of the 'Beatniks' of the late 50s and early 60s that he found himself sharing Chelsea with or, as he called them the 'Weirdies' -                                                                        

 
The Weirdies

The Chelsea man is excessively queer,
He only drinks coffee and doesn't like beer.
He's always "chatting" the girls, and yet
This seems to make him "one of the set".

His unkempt chin and uncut hair
Go with his feet which are usually bare.
If he wears shoes, they've never got soles,
And he's usually found in Bohemian holes.

His outsize sweater is generally black
Contrasting well with his shorty mac.
He wears his clothing merely to show
That he can keep up with the boys of Soho.

To find a girl he doesn't look far,
But into the nearest coffee bar,
Where he's sure to meet a Bohemian "yob".
They're all from Chelsea - what a mob!

The girls with hair right down their backs
Wear irregular clothes that look like sacks.
They walk about wearing father's sweater:
I really don't see why he should let 'er.

Their gaudy clothes of reds and greens
Match up with the style of their men-friends' jeans.
Now that's how it goes with the latest style:
Girls on their faces make-up pile,
The men wear anything they can find -
I shouldn't stare, I should just act blind!

A.R. Doubledee (5b)

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